It’s no secret that losing weight typically requires a few dietary changes. If you want to shed some pounds, prioritizing whole foods and a balanced diet is crucial. That means that in addition to filling your plate with lean proteins and healthy veggies each day, it’s also vital to limit your intake of certain foods in order to slim down. Unfortunately, some of the worst foods for weight loss may be right in your own pantry right now. That includes potato chips and white bread.
To learn more about why processed foods like potato chips and white bread might be holding you back from achieving a flatter belly, we spoke to health experts Michael Garrico, certified personal trainer, nutritionist, and co-founder of TotalShape and Dana Ellis Hunnes, PhD, MPH, RD. Find all of their expert insight regarding these fattening foods below.
1. Potato chips
When your stomach starts grumbling for that mid-day snack, you may find yourself reaching for a big bag of potato chips to munch on. Unfortunately, though, experts agree that this is one of the worst offenders when it comes to belly fat-forming foods. In fact, Garrico says that potato chips in particular are "your worst enemy, especially if you're trying to reduce belly fat." Say it ain't so!
Hunnes explains that potato chips, like other processed empty-calorie foods, have "no nutritional benefits" and "are often devoid of vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory compounds," which means that when you eat them, you're loading up on calories without gaining any of the nutrients your body needs to thrive. This can take a toll on your metabolism over time and ultimately lead to weight gain. As Hunnes notes, processed snacks frequently lead to "insulin spikes, increases in IGF-1, an inflammatory marker, and increases risk for chronic diseases and deposition (fat storage) of calories in the body." Oh no!
Luckily, there are plenty of healthy snacks to replace potato chips with.
2. White bread
Although it may be tasty option for sandwiches, toast, and more, white bread is another processed food that experts say you're better off cutting out of your diet if you want to reduce belly fat. This bread is full of refined carbs, which can take a serious toll on your body and result in weight gain over time.
As Hunnes explains, these carbs, which have undergone a refining process that strips them of all their fiber and nutritional benefits, "have many negative side effects for our health and belly fat is just one of them." Like potato chips, consuming white bread can result in "quick sugar spikes and inflammation, both of which stall weight loss and damage health." Yikes!
However, there are several types of bread you can continue to enjoy while losing weight, including whole wheat and sprouted varieties.
The bottom line
Losing weight takes hard work; it will likely take more than cutting out a few foods if you want to see pounds drop. However, in addition to putting in extra work at the gym with a great fat-blasting workout routine and practicing daily healthy habits, limiting your intake of processed foods like potato chips and white bread is just one way to get one stop closer to the flat belly of your drinks.
